WNYC Newsroom

The marketing company Affinion has agreed to pay $8 million to settle allegations that it tricked Internet shoppers into signing up for discount clubs with hidden fees.

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan says his "major prayer" is that both sides in the debate over a proposed mosque and and community center blocks from the World Trade Center site can have a "respectful discussion" over plans.

Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro has issued an apology to the families of 9/11 victims -- after officials mistakenly believed a local memorial had been vandalized.

New Jersey has become the first state ever accused of securities fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC says the Garden State claimed to be properly funding public workers' pensions when it was not, thereby failing to give municipal bond investors enough information to fully assess the state's financial picture.

A Peruvian court has reversed the parole of Lori Berenson. The New Yorker was released earlier this year, after serving 15 years of a 20-year sentence for collaborating with the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, a militant rebel group. Berenson's husband and lawyer, Anibal Apari, said she turned herself in to police after the court decision was announced.

A majority of New Yorkers say they oppose the project, but support the developers' right to build.

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted Wednesday of making false statements to the F.B.I., a conviction that could carry a prison sentence of up to five years. Jurors, who had been deliberating for two weeks, failed to reach a consensus on 23 remaining counts against him.

Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter is Forbes magazine's richest hip-hop star of 2010. His annual earnings of $63 million is more than double that of the next rapper on the list, Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Some of New York City’s iconic skyscrapers are joining a campaign to dim their lights this fall to help millions of migrating birds.

Gov. David Paterson vetoed 34 bills over the weekend -- most of them unfunded grants and mandates -- and signed another 103 measures into law. "The legislature must stop passing legislation that spends money that we can no longer afford," Paterson said in a statement announcing the vetoes.

At a White House dinner Friday evening, the president said that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else. He said that includes the right to build a pla...

The month of Ramadan is underway, and a local Muslim leader says most New York Muslims likely won't celebrate the holiday that marks its end as robustly as they normally do. That's because Eid al-Fitr falls around 9/11 this year.

A right-wing New Jersey blogger was convicted today, at his third trial, of making death threats against three federal judges in Illinois. A Brooklyn jury deliberated less than two hours before finding Hal Turner guilty.

Gracious Home, the upscale home store with three locations in Manhattan has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has been endorsed for election by a leading gun control group, two years after earning a top rating from the National Rifle Association.

Change comes to two businesses: The executive who steered General Motors out of bankruptcy is stepping down, and a Brooklyn pizzeria some say is the best in the city faces eviction. It's WNYC's Financial 411 -- our take on the economic news of the day.

Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez was charged with third-degree assault and released without bail from a Queens courtroom today.

How do you explain the behavior of Steven Slater, the ticked off JetBlue flight attendant who literally slid off the job on Monday at Kennedy Airport?

Recession be damned. That seems to the sentiment of tourists heading to New York. The city is on track to surpass the record of 47 million visitors in 2008.

Standing next to Gov. David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday dismissed the governor's proposal to resolve public outcry over a proposed mosque near Ground Zero by offering developers state land if they move the project.